


Because I Love You

by Viilax



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Gay, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Character Death, Past Relationship(s), Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 09:25:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19765291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Viilax/pseuds/Viilax
Summary: - In which Jaehyun does everything for Taeyong, just because he loves him.{- slight graphic depictions of violence, swearing, vampire!au, homosexual relationships, threats}[- NCT][- Jaeyong]





	Because I Love You

**Author's Note:**

> crossposted on wattpad! enjoy!

Dear Taeyong, 

I'm sorry you had to get to know through the news. Yes, it's true, I did try to stab him. I wanted you to be safe, so I had to do this. Sure, he isn't dead, but I hope you can live peacefully now; without me. Well, I can't change how things are now, and I'm sorry I have to leave you, but there's nothing I can do about it. It's better for you. Please remember that I will always love you. 

Sincerely, Jaehyun

•

He put the glass with the sickeningly sweet fluid inside away. Sure, the sweetness was only there because of some vanilla aroma, but that's exactly how he loved it. 

Vanilla had always been his favorite.

\----

"Hey, Ten, could you hand me those papers, please?" Taeyong asked while gesturing to some sheets of paper laying on a chair. 

"Here you go," Ten smiled back at him and went to leave the office of his boyfriend, who was saying thanks to him. 

Taeyong had met Ten two years ago when he had started working as a banker. They both hadn't been paying attention and ran into each other, just to blush, exchange phone numbers and become boyfriends around six months later. 

They loved each other. 

Well, they were close to true love. 

Ten knew about Taeyong's past with his ex-boyfriend Jaehyun, who had disappeared around five years ago, when Taeyong was 19 and Jaehyun was 18 years old. Taeyong had told Ten everything the day they had become boyfriends. 

Well, Jaehyun and Taeyong had never officially broken up since Jaehyun had just disappeared, a letter being the last sign of him. Not even his parents or anyone else had heard from him since that day. 

It was as if he had been swallowed by the ground. 

Right after Taeyong had graduated, he had moved to Seoul, where he had met Ten. Ten was his first boyfriend after Jaehyun; he had never even looked at someone after Jaehyun had left before. Ten was just too captivating for him to resist, though. 

He loved many things about Ten. His looks, his perfume, his personality, his obsession with dancing. He was simply perfect. 

Still, he had never completely forgotten about Jaehyun. 

The letter was still laying in his bedside drawer; he didn't dare to put it anywhere else. Jaehyun had put it there five years ago, and Taeyong had read it every day since then and still did, but he never even thought of placing the letter somewhere else. 

That was when he snapped out of his thoughts and got back to work. 

\----

"Thank you, Taeil," Jaehyun said as he received the letters Taeil had gotten out of the mailbox. They were mostly from business partners, the same as every week. 

Ever since Jaehyun had basically fled to Seoul, he had been running his own company with his best friends Taeil and Kun. Sure, their business wasn't official, but pretty well-known and the biggest one in South Korea when it came to selling blood conserves. 

They all were vampires, after all. 

He flipped through the letters while sipping on his vanilla-flavored blood, but suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, this close to crashing the glass in his hand. 

"Kun, Taeil, please come here!" he shouted, making sure they'd hear him even if they were in the basement. He didn't have to worry about other people hearing him, though, since all the others were currently on vacation (sponsored by Jaehyun, Taeil and Kun, of course).

They both entered his office, confusedly taking a seat and asking what was wrong. 

"Who is this letter from?" he asked, giving the letter to them. 

They both examined the envelope; even read the letter. There wasn't a signature, but there was an address on the back of the envelope. 

"Let me check this address real quick," Kun offered, then left the office. 

"I'll examine the letter further, maybe there's a message behind it," Taeil said, then also left, taking the letter with him. The confusing thing about the letter was that the message written in it didn't seem to make any sense at all. 

I have liked cats all the time.  
Love them now, thanks to you.  
You have shown me how graceful they are.

•

Taeyong was contemplating if he should confront Ten or not. During the past weeks, he had felt like Ten had been abandoning him a lot; he still did. Still, he didn't want to ruin anything or make Ten feel unconditional or even come off as clingy and jealous. 

On the other hand, if he didn't confront Ten directly about it, it would never change. Also, honesty is one of the most important things in a relationship, isn't it? 

He waited until Ten came back from changing his clothes after showering, preparing two cups of tea in the meantime.

"Ten, can we talk?" Taeyong asked as he heard small steps coming towards the living room. He was currently standing on the kitchen counter right across the hallway and the living room door. 

"Sure," Ten replied, entering the kitchen while drying his hair with a towel. "Did you make it for us?" he then asked, pointing to the cups.

Taeyong nodded, waiting for Ten to take a seat. Then, he spoke up: "What I wanted to talk about.. Well, I don't exactly know how to put it any I don't want you to assume things like I'm jealous or anything, but I feel like you've been abandoning me lately."

Ten was silent for some seconds that felt like the longest time in Taeyong's entire life before replying with a strained voice: "You're wrong, I wasn't abandoning you. I'm very sorry if it seemed like that."

"You're suddenly so tense, honey. What's bothering you?" Taeyong tried to gently ask his boyfriend, wanting the tension radiating between them to fade. 

"It's nothing, Tae, don't worry, okay?" Ten asked, his voice slightly shaking as he gripped the cup tightly, making the skin above his knuckles become white. 

"We're in a relationship, how couldn't I worry?" Taeyong asked, now becoming a little stressed. He was extremely concerned by now; he had seen that side of Ten only one or two times before, and it was only because of something really bad. 

"It's really fine, okay? I'll go to sleep now, I'm tired," Ten excused himself, placing the cup he was still holding on the table. It was better if he left the situation now before it would go overboard, he thought. 

Taeyong was left alone with his thoughts. 

\----

Taeyong went to bed late that night, hoping that Ten was already asleep. He was about to think that his boyfriend wasn't awake and that he could sleep now, but suddenly, he could feel arms wrapping around his waist. 

"I'm sorry, Tae, I didn't want to be mean to you," Ten whispered. Taeyong couldn't help but smile and then turn around in the embrace, saying that it wasn't just Ten's fault. 

As Taeyong fell asleep, Ten was left wide awake. He couldn't fall asleep. 

Ten wouldn't be able to sleep for the rest of his now infinite life. 

•

"That's insane!" Kun exclaimed. "Seoul's biggest bank?"

\----

I have loved cats all the time.   
Love them now, thanks to you.  
You have shown me how grateful they are. 

"I could swear that's the message behind this," Taeil said to Jaehyun and Kun while pointing at the letter repeatedly. 

"Wait, that would mean someone who's working at that bank has sent a letter to us, without telling who they are, just to say 'I Love You'?" Jaehyun concluded. 

"Well, it was your name on the envelope, so I think it's directly addressed at you," Kun said, directing his soft gaze at Jaehyun. 

Jaehyun just laid his head on his desk.

Taeil was quick to make an offer, though: "How about I go and create a bank account there? I'll have to talk to someone there and will catch a good look of their handwriting. Maybe I'll find out about who they are."

"That sounds good, thank you, Taeil," Jaehyun said weakly. 

"No problem," Taeil replied, getting up to make an appointment at the bank while Kun was staying with Jaehyun. 

\----

"You can't be serious!" Taeyong said with his voice cracking since he was on the verge of crying. 

"I'm so sorry, Taeyong, it's for your own safety. I quitted my job already and also found a place to stay at. I'm really sorry. Please remember that I still love you," Ten explained with pain in his eyes, then turned around and left.

"Why again?" Taeyong whispered right before sliding down on the door, then hugged his knees tightly and started to cry silently. 

\----

Ten knocked on the door, waiting for it to be opened. It didn't take long until he was entering the apartment of his childhood friend named Johnny. 

"I did it. It hurts so much, but I had to do it," Ten said, sitting right next to Johnny on the couch. 

"It's better this way, trust me," Johnny tried to reassure him. He knew how hard it was to break up with someone you really loved just because of getting involuntary turned. 

They had both experienced the same; Johnny three years ago and Ten just some weeks before. Some uncivilized vampire had bitten and turned them at night while they had been walking home from work. 

Not all vampires were like that. There were many civilizised vampires who worked just like humans or had their own companies and also human friends and everything. They didn't sleep at night, though, they just took a rest (occasionally).

Johnny was one of those vampires. He ordered his blood from a company - JMQ Company, to be exact - and worked as an accountant from 8 am to 4 pm. He had learned how to control his thirst and was willing to help Ten with gaining control over his new life.

\----

"That's it! You're going to receive your credit card in a few days per mailing. Thank you, have a nice day!" the banker with the vibrant orange hair said. Taeil also said his goodbyes, then left the office.

Taeil thought that the smile on that banker's face wasn't reaching his eyes. 

•

"Well, I'll get my credit card in a few days," Taeil informed as the three of them met up in the evening, making sure they weren't missing out on any detail. 

"You said it wasn't the same handwriting as in the letter. Maybe it was the same person, but they had asked someone else to do it?" Kun shared his thoughts. 

"What did the banker look like?" Jaehyun asked. 

Taeil was quick to explain: "He was around my height, just a little taller, pretty skinny yet muscular and looked very serious. He had large eyes and a jawline so sharp I thought he'd cut my face in half with it and so good skin. That guy looked kind of sad, though, and his hair was a bright orange."

"Well, except for the sadness and the orange hair, he reminds me.." Jaehyun trailed off. Kun and Taeil, who knew about Jaehyun's past, were quick to finish that sentence. 

Softly, Kun asked: "Do you mean Taeyong?"

With slightly glassy eyes, Jaehyun nodded. 

"I'll hack their cameras tonight so I'll be able to see whoever works there tomorrow. If that's okay, I could show you the records and you could tell me if it's really him?" Kun offered. 

Jaehyun agreed, then told them he needed some time for himself. Taeil and Kun left quietly; Kun got to work immediately and Taeil went to check their inventory. 

\----

"Taeyong, you don't look so good, do you want to take a day or two off of work?" Taeyong's coworker, Doyoung, asked. Doyoung and Taeyong had become pretty close friends over the past two years since they'd met and shared lots of things with each other. 

"No, I'm fine, I just didn't sleep that well. Please don't worry about me," Taeyong tried to reassure the other while sipping his tea. They were currently on lunch break, so they could talk a little before going back to work. 

"Okay, but please make sure to rest well in the afternoon, yeah?" Doyoung smiled at him. Taeyong couldn't help but flash him a smile back, saying that he'd take care of himself. Then, their break was over.

When Taeyong was back at filling in forms, his mind started to wander even though he didn't want it to. 

There were only two things - people - he could think of, though, and that's exactly what he didn't want to happen. 

Ten and Jaehyun. 

Taeyong was trying really hard to stay focused, but as his mind started wandering further, he could feel his emotional barriers break slowly. 

He moved the forms away only a second before the first of his tears fell down.

"I can't do this anymore," he whispered, but he knew nobody could hear him. 

\----

"No, you can, stay strong, Taeyong!" Jaehyun almost screamed as they were watching what happened in Taeyong's office after Taeyong's lunch break had ended.

"So that's really Taeyong I met yesterday?" Taeil asked in slight disbelief. 

"Well, he sure has changed quite a lot over the past years, but there's no way in hell I wouldn't recognize him," Jaehyun said sternly. It was Taeyong for sure; he'd always be able to spot him. 

"Also, that other guy has said his name as well, hasn't he?" Kun said. 

"Yeah, you're right," Taeil replied. Then, they all looked at the screen again. 

Jaehyun quietly spoke up once again, maybe not even knowing he was voicing out his thoughts: "I wish I could come to help you through whatever is making you suffer."

•

"Suddenly craving for blood instead of normal food feels weird," Ten blankly said to Johnny, who was sitting right in front of him with a glass filled with good-smelling blood, which was flavored with some coffee aroma.

Johnny chuckled: "Well, you'll get used to it, believe me. Also, you need to feed, right? Have you fed after you've been turned?"

"No, I haven't fed, I- I didn't want to hurt anyone," Ten shyly admitted. Johnny placed the glass on the table a little too loudly, causing the liquid inside it to almost spill. 

"We need to go and get you some blood right now; you're starving. If you don't feed in the next few hours, you're going into a state of starvation. That's no fun, believe me, I've been through it. Do you feel dizzy or something?"

"Well, I just have a small headache," Ten replied while looking at the table. Johnny's sudden change in emotions was making him insecure. 

"We're going right now," Johnny ordered, then took Ten's hand in his own to guide him out of the apartment after grabbing his keys and locking the door. 

\----

Johnny pushed the door to a small house open, leading Ten inside. The house looked nice, Ten thought, but now seeing it from the inside, he noticed that it was way bigger than it seemed. 

"This is JMQ Company. The basement is a whole lot more spacious," Johnny informed him, causing Ten to chuckle lightly. After only a few seconds, they were approached by a rather small guy with brown, fluffy hair and soft eyes. 

"Hey, Johnny, long time no see. Who have you brought with you? My name's Moon Taeil, by the way, I'm one of the CEOs of the company," he said, looking at Johnny and his companion. 

"I'm Ten, nice to meet you," Ten said, shaking Taeil's hand. 

"What can I do for you?" Taeil asked with a smile. 

Johnny was the one to speak up: "Well, we need blood, but he's been turned just some weeks ago and hasn't fed in his whole life, so it's very urgent and we don't know what blood type he likes."

Taeil's face became serious very quickly. Then, he said in an earnest voice: "Okay, follow me, I'll let you try all the blood types and then you can feed off the one you like the best until you're not hungry anymore." Then, he led them down the hallway. 

\----

"I don't think this is it," Ten said after trying some blood of the type A. No type had convinced him yet, but there was only one type left. Also, he still felt uncomfortable with drinking blood, but he started to get used to it with every small sip. His hunger was becoming a little less already. 

"Try this, then. Blood type B," Taeil said, handing him another glass. 

As Ten tried it, his eyes lit up immediately. "That's it, I like this one a lot!" Johnny and Taeil both smiled, and then, Taeil asked him if he would prefer a certain flavor. 

"Do you have dark chocolate flavor?" he asked mischievously. 

"Of course," Taeil said, then got a small bottle and poured a few drops of the liquid into the blood. 

Ten drank all of it in one go. 

"Could I have some more, please?"

•

Kun was currently on his way over to Taeyong's flat. Well, it wasn't totally voluntarily, but he was willing to do lots of things for his best friend(s).

Jaehyun had basically begged him to walk home after Taeyong since he had looked so extremely sad during the past days. It was clearly to be seen, even if it was just over some monitors at his workplace. 

They had sent Kun to do it since Taeyong already knew Taeil and might assume some weird things. Also, they had been attentive over Taeyong's work times so Kun could follow him and maybe get some information.

Kun was about to stop at the traffic light across the street from Taeyong, but it seemed like he should get to save Taeyong way sooner than they all had thought. 

Taeyong, who was crossing the street and seemed pretty deep in his thoughts, obviously didn't notice that there was a car coming right into his direction at a way too high speed. 

Kun didn't hesitate and started running. He tried to stop his instincts from taking over and start to run at a speed that was too fast for the human eye to notice so it would seem like he had been teleporting, but he also couldn't run at the average human speed. 

He chose a fast human speed. 

Reaching Taeyong, he grabbed him by his waist and used his strength to carry him in his arms, running back to the pavement. 

Pretending to breathe heavier then necessary (he wanted to seem more human), Kun put Taeyong down on the ground carefully, still steadying him by his waist. Taeyong looked at him with doe eyes, seemingly shocked.

"Are you okay? Can you stand properly?" Kun asked concernedly. Taeyong didn't seem to be able to focus on anything, though, so he just continued to stare at Kun. (The driver hadn't noticed anything due to the speed.)

Kun continued to ask questions and even tried to check Taeyong's vital signs, but that's when Taeyong suddenly snapped out of the haze he had been in. 

"Thank you for saving me, I didn't notice at all, I'm so sorry for making you do this," he said. Kun was quick to reassure him that it was really fine (he loved helping people).

"Don't worry, it's all fine. May I ask who you are?"

Taeyong didn't expect that kind of question, but he thought that his savior was nice, so he didn't hesitate that much to reply. 

"My name's Lee Taeyong, and yours?"

"I'm Qian Kun," he smiled. He was really happy that Taeyong seemed to sympathize with him, so he tried to keep the conversation going. 

Taeyong was faster, though.

"What can I do to pay you back for saving my life?" he asked. 

"I don't expect anything in return; it's really fine," Kun said calmly. He really didn't want something like a payback.

"No, I want to pay you back since you saved my life and you can't say no," Taeyong said cheekily, making sure Kun wouldn't back out of it with a mischievous smirk. 

For almost being run over a moment ago, he had regained his composure really quick. 

"Since I don't have money with me and you don't seen like you'll rob me, I'll take you home for a cup of tea, okay?"

•

"It's quite nice here," Kun said as he put off his shoes and jacket, looking around the floor of Taeyong's apartment. 

"Thanks, we- I chose the furniture and decoration with my parents," Taeyong explained, hoping that Kun didn't notice the small mistake he had made. Kun did notice, though, but decided to not ask any further questions since he noticed Taeyong's slight discomfort.

While Taeyong was preparing the tea, Kun found himself looking around the living room. There was a nice and comfortable-looking couch, a wooden table, a TV, a huge bookshelf that was filled to the brim with books and there were many picture hanging on the walls. 

As Kun took some closer looks at the pictures, he saw one person appearing in almost every pic. It was a guy with a friendly smile, sparkling eyes and brown hair. Also, he had lots of piercings on his ears. 

Kun sat down on the couch right the moment Taeyong returned, carrying a tray with two cups of tea on it. 

"Wait, let me help you," Kun said while standing up and helping Taeyong set the tray down on the table. 

"Thanks, but you've helped me enough already," Taeyong replied while sitting down next to Kun.

A few minutes later, Kun asked something pretty risky, he thought. 

"May I ask who this guy in all those pictures is?" he asked, pointing to the walls. He noticed that Taeyong's face almost fell, but he regained control over his emotions quickly. 

"His name.. is Ten. He's my.. ex. My ex-boyfriend. He left me just a few days ago."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to ask something that's painful for you."

"It's fine, you didn't know. I don't even know why he left me, he said it was better for me. It just doesn't make sense to me."

Kun just leaned in and slung his arm around Taeyong's shoulder.

"Thank you for listening, Kun, even though we've just met today."

\----

"Jaehyun, I think you should see that," Taeil said while storming into Jaehyun's office. Then, he slammed a letter onto the desk. 

"It's the same address again. The bank."

Jaehyun opened the letter immediately in an abrupt move, almost ripping it completely. 

This means a lot to me.   
Is this real? I don't know, but it's going to be real soon, believe me.   
War is going to happen. 

Remember me. 

"I think this is a threat," Jaehyun said.

•

"Okay, I'm so going to damage something for someone else messing with my past."

\- a few hours ago -

"I thought breaking into this house was not that easy," he chuckled. He was currently trying to break into JMQ Company, but not to rob them or anything. 

His plan was way better. 

"Well, maybe it's harder to break into the basement since there's all the blood, but that's not why I'm here," the guy whispered as he opened the backdoor. 

"Where is it..?" he asked himself quietly, looking for a certain room. 

Jung Yoonoh's office. 

He opened every door on the first floor, checking if it was the room he was looking for. The guy entered every room that looked like an office, but the first two offices belonged to some other guys. 

Moon Taeil and Qian Kun. 

He knew everything about them; every single detail. 

He wasn't interested in those guys, though. 

Finally, he thought as he found the office that belonged to Jaehyun. 

His old friend Jaehyun. 

Approaching the huge wooden desk, he pulled something out of his backpack. He had been wearing gloves all the time, of course, to avoid leaving any traces. 

When he was standing in front of the desk, he placed the pic he was holding on top of it. 

Then, he left, closing the doors he had opened behind himself. 

\----

"Calm down, Jaehyun, nothing has been stolen, nothing is broken, nobody is hurt. We're going to solve this," Taeil said reassuringly, trying to calm a fuming Jaehyun down alongside Kun. 

"We all know you've been through some tough shit before being turned, but you don't need to let your anger take over," Kun tried to help. 

"You're right, but I just wonder about who the fuck is doing this. Like, I don't think I told anyone about anything back then except for you guys, so why should someone break into our company to just place an old pic of Taeyong and me on my desk?" Jaehyun exclaimed, almost boiling with anger and confusion. 

"Wait.. Were you human back then?"

"Yes, I was.. This was taken only a week before I've been turned, before all of this.. shit happened," Jaehyun replied to Kun's question, sounding a bit more calmed down already. 

"Can I take the picture?" Taeil asked, and as Jaehyun nodded, he reached forward and took the picture, careful not to damage it. Then, he turned it around and his assumption was proven true. 

"Have you seen this?" he asked, showing the backside of the picture to his friends. 

It was another message. 

Do you remember this day?   
I do.   
I could never forget about it.   
Not because of you, but because of something else.   
You're going to pay. 

See you soon. 

"I think this is becoming a very serious matter."

\----

That night, Taeyong wasn't able to sleep well. He had been waking up multiple times already due to his dreams. 

When he woke up again, it was 5 in the morning and he was lying in his own sweat.

He had been dreaming about Ten at first, but it changed and now he had been dreaming about Jaehyun. 

It was always the same; someone ended up dead. 

A few hours later, he called in sick at work. 

•

"There is no clue as to who the person is who brought the picture here. I even had Mark check on it, but he couldn't find anything," Taeil explained two days later. He had tried everything to find out about who had sent the letters and stuff, but to no avail. 

Kun, on the other hand, had told them about his encounter with Taeyong a few days ago. Well, he had talked about it only an hour before Taeil came back with the results, so he had yet to know about it. 

That's how Kun told the story another time. 

\----

"Wait, wait, wait," Taeil interrupted. "Ten as in a small guy with dark hair, many piercings and a mischievous smile who has just been turned a few weeks ago?"

"Except for the turning part, that's what he looks like. Why? Do you know him?" Kun asked back. 

Taeil nodded. "He has been here with Johnny a week or something ago since he hadn't fed in some weeks after being turned."

"So Johnny knows him," Jaehyun concluded. "Let's pay him a visit."

\----

"Taeyong as in Lee Taeyong? Ten's ex-boyfriend?" Johnny asked. Jaehyun, Kun and Taeil hadn't wasted any time and went straight to Johnny's apartment. That's where they were now; sitting on said friend's couch. 

"Exactly," Taeil said. They were waiting for Ten to return and ask him about it. He was currently taking a shower.

The guys hadn't wait for long.

"Oh, hey, Taeil, nice to see you again! Who have you brought with you?" Ten greeted them as he entered the living room, wet strands of hair falling onto his forehead. 

"Let me introduce the other CEOs of the company and my best friends to you; Qian Kun and Jung Yoonoh aka Jaehyun," Taeil introduced them, pointing to each of them while saying their names. 

"Hi, nice to meet you guys!" Ten said excitedly, but his face fell quickly as he seemed to realize something. 

"Wait, Jung Yoonoh as in 'The Guy Who Disappeared'?" he asked. They all nodded. 

"That's me and I think you know now why we're here," Jaehyun said. Then, he turned to Kun: "Do you mind explaining?"

Kun spoke up immediately: "A few days ago, I saved Taeyong from almost getting run over and ended up at his place. There, I saw pictures of you two and asked about you. As I told Taeil and Jaehyun about this, it turned out that Taeil knew who you were. That's not the only reason why we're here, though. Taeil?"

Taeil began explaining about the letters and the picture in detail; he didn't want to leave anything out. He also showed Ten and Johnny everything, asking them if they knew the person's handwriting, but they denied. 

"Has anything weird happened back when you have been living with Taeyong?" he asked in the end, making Ten think a bit. Ten had also explained why he had broken up with Taeyong and how he knew Johnny. 

"No, not really.." he trailed off. Jaehyun's shoulders slumped already, but then, Ten's face lit up in realization. 

"Wait! There was this letter in the mail, but there wasn't an address written on it. When I asked Taeyong about it, he spaced out and said it wasn't anything that mattered. I didn't want to bother him, so I let it slide."

"Could you read the letter?" Johnny asked. 

"No, not entirely, but I saw some words.. I know! It said 'him', 'past', 'stabbed' and 'life'. I mean, I know what has happened back then, Taeyong has told me about it, but those words don't make much sense to me."

"Well, you've heard the official version, I think. I've also left him after being turned," Jaehyun told him.

Ten's face fell as he got to know that. 

Suddenly, Kun became nervous: "Guys, I think we should check on Taeyong."

•

When the guys arrived at Taeyong's apartment, Ten and Jaehyun hid behind some bushes across the front door. In case Taeyong was there, they didn't want to be seen so he wouldn't be too shaken up. 

They didn't think Taeyong would be able to stand seeing them; especially Jaehyun after all that time. 

Johnny was hiding with them, and he had to lay down on the ground in order to not be seen, but he didn't want to confuse Taeyong with his presence either. 

Kun and Taeil went up to the door, then pressed on the bell, waiting for someone to open up. A minute after another passed, and after some time that seemed like an eternity to all of them, they knew nobody would open the door. 

That's when they had to do what they didn't want to do. 

Ten still had his spare keys to the apartment, so the others also went up to the door and Ten opened it. 

They entered the apartment quietly, hoping not to get noticed by any neighbors. Inside the apartment, they split up to search for clues that could help them. Ten and Johnny went together as well as Kun and Taeil, so Jaehyun was left and decided to explore everything on his own. 

The apartment was quite spacious, but since they were so many people, they would have found whatever they were looking for pretty quickly, they thought. 

Kun was explaining everything again to Taeil since the latter had asked him about his encounter with Taeyong once again while searching, but luckily, they were able to talk very quietly. Human ears - if there were any - wouldn't be able to listen to their conversation. 

Johnny and Ten were also talking, mainly about Ten and Taeyong's relationship. They were searching in the kitchen, looked into every cupboard and even the oven. They didn't find anything, so they moved on to the bathroom. 

Taeil and Kun, who had went to the dining room after declaring the living room for free of any hints, suddenly found something laying on the table. 

It was a ripped envelope, a piece of paper poking out of it. 

Taeil picked it up carefully, making sure he was wearing the gloves he had brought just in case, and had to find out that it was another picture of Taeyong and Jaehyun with another message on it. He gasped loudly, making Kun turn around. 

"Did you find something?"

"Yes, and it looks pretty familiar. Please gather the others."

Kun immediately began looking for everyone. 

He didn't have to search for long, though, since he ran into Johnny and Ten, who were coming from the bathroom without any hints but slightly disheveled hair. 

They went to the kitchen together, waiting for Taeil to speak up. Then, they noticed something. 

"Where is Jaehyun?"

•

Everyone started exploring the apartment once more as they noticed Jaehyun not being there. 

Kun was the one who found him eventually. 

Jaehyun was sitting on a queen-sized bed that was seemingly belonging to Taeyong. Kun noticed he was holding something in his hands; it seemed like a sheet of paper. Jaehyun then noticed Kun standing in the doorframe.

"He still keeps it," Jaehyun croaked out, tears threatening to spill. As Kun saw this, he rushed into the room, sitting down next to his friend. 

"It's the letter I wrote back then; I found it in his drawer," Jaehyun continued. "I can't believe this." 

Then, Jaehyun rested his head on Kun's shoulder. Kun took the letter out of Jaehyun's hands gently, putting it back into the drawer before closing it. Then, he helped Jaehyun to stand up. 

While still letting Jaehyun calm down in his hold, Kun took Jaehyun downstairs to find the others already waiting for them. Someone must have noticed that Kun had found Jaehyun. 

"We've found something. Do you want to know?" Taeil asked softly, not wanting to startle his friend. Jaehyun just nodded. 

Taeil spoke up again: "We've found the same picture we've found in your office, but it has a different message on it. It says:

You have never forgotten about him; I can tell.   
I have good news for you: You're going to see him again soon. 

So basically it says you're going to meet again in the near future. We just need to find out how."

\----

Right as they finished talking, they heard someone fumbling with their keys outside of the frontdoor. They looked at each other, and Johnny told them to hide and leave as quickly as possible. 

\----

Ten and Johnny had managed to escape through the frontdoor five minutes after Taeyong's arrival. They had been waiting for Taeyong to leave the kitchen, which was across from the small chamber with cleaning stuff where they had been hiding in. They didn't know how they had managed to fit inside there, but it worked. 

Kun and Taeil had escaped through the bathroom window. The window had been opened before, so they didn't need to worry about Taeyong thinking someone had been there. Also, since they were somehow able to close the window from outside, they didn't need to worry at all. 

Jaehyun was a lot less lucky. He hadn't managed to fit into the chamber nor to escape through the bathroom window before Taeyong had entered the room, so he ended up hiding below the bed. It was a pretty tight fit, but he managed to do it. 

When Taeyong entered the room, he stiffened. Sure, he didn't had to worry about any breathing noises, but it was kind of a reflex. He could still get caught. 

Jaehyun was able to see Taeyong's legs as said guy was standing in front of his wardrobe, pulling clothes out before placing them on the bed as careful as all those years ago. Then, Taeyong seemed to pull out his phone, and soon, Jaehyun could hear a voice message playing. 

It was Doyoung's voice. 

They used to be the best of friends before Jaehyun left.

Taeyong sent a voice message back, and Jaehyun was able to hear his voice after years again. 

Later, as Taeyong had went to take a shower and Jaehyun was sure he wouldn't be caught, he quietly left through the unlocked front door.

\----

"His voice may sound a little different, but it's at least as mesmerizing as it was back then," Jaehyun told the others later on. 

•

Since they all were pretty sure that Taeyong was still shaken up due to the new picture, they agreed on Kun asking him if he could come over with a friend (Taeil) so they could get to know each other or anything. 

Taeyong agreed immediately. 

\----

Standing in front of Taeyong, Taeil slightly hiding behind him, Kun introduced the guys. Sure, he knew they already had seen each other, but he could just pretend he didn't know yet. 

"Aren't you the guy who was in my office like a few weeks ago?" Taeyong asked confusedly.

Taeil smiled a little embarrassedly. "Yeah, that's true, I didn't think we'd meet again like this."

"Well, come in," Taeyong said while opening the door for them.

\----

Later, all of them could be found talking excitedly while drinking tea. They all got along very well; they had many similar interests and hobbies and even almost the same kind of humor. They didn't need to think about what to say next; the conversation just went on naturally. 

Their plan, which consisted of distracting Taeyong from the events that were happening lately, seemed to work. It would be even better if they would get some kind of information, though.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and Taeyong went to open the door. 

As he came back, there was a second guy entering the living room behind him. 

"Let me introduce you to my best friend Dongyoung, but we all call him Doyoung. Doyoung, meet Kun and Taeil while I go and prepare some tea for you," Taeyong said, then turned around and went straight to the kitchen.

Doyoung approached them to greet them before sitting down on the huge couch as well. They started a light conversation, waiting for Taeyong to come back. 

\----

Another good twenty minutes later, the atmosphere was very relaxed and calm. Doyoung's presence didn't affect the mood at all, instead, he just mixed some spice into their conversation. 

The guys were immersed in their conversation and didn't notice time passing by way too quickly. Soon, it was late and Doyoung had to get home, but Taeyong convinced him to stay since it could be pretty dangerous outside. He agreed since they were working at the same place, anyways. 

He also wanted to convince Kun and Taeil to stay, but they were persistent and said they'd be able to get home safely. 

"Please text me when you're home, okay? Both of you," Taeyong said, trying to assure himself that nothing was going to happen. 

"We will. Good night, guys!" They said, turning around to leave. 

"Good night!" Taeyong and Doyoung shouted after them. 

Right before opening the door, Kun noticed something laying on the ground. 

It was an envelope. 

He picked it up and went back into the living room, Taeil following him. 

"Is that yours? It was laying in front of the door" he asked, showing the envelope. Taeyong's face became serious the second he spotted the envelope in his hand, then went up to get it. 

"Well, it seems like that.. Let me open it," he said while opening it. 

There was a picture inside.

The days are counted for both of you. 

•

"Jaehyun, where are you?!" Taeil yelled as he entered their company/apartment building behind Kun, who had already run past Jaehyun's office. Taeil locked the door multiple times before hurrying after him.

They both heard a croaked 'I'm here' coming from Jaehyun's office. Taeil and Kun, who came running back from the other end of the floor, rushed inside a room and were met with a slightly shocking sight.

It was Jaehyun sitting on the ground, clutching his badly bleeding hand.

"What has happened?!" Kun asked while getting the first aid kit from below the desk. Taeil went to Jaehyun and inspected his hand in the meantime.

Jaehyun explained: "There was another picture delivered, but it must have been.. poisoned with some substance or something. When I touched it, my hand started to literally burn and bleed. I was able to read the message written on the back, though."

Kun, who was desinfecting Jaehyun's hand, asked: "What did it say?"

"It said 'You know who I am; I know who and what you are. You won't be it for long, though.'," Jaehyun recited. Then, he had to restrain himself from pulling his hand back due to the burn and just hissed. Taeil was quick to distract him with talking about what had happened at Taeyong's place.

\----

"Why does this have to be so complicated?" Ten asked exasperatedly. He was talking to Johnny about the life as a vampire and everything related to it.

"Well, it might be complicated in the beginning, but once you have gotten used to it, it's not that different from human life. You just need blood instead of real food," Johnny shrugged, drinking some coffee-flavored blood. Yeah, a pretty odd combination, but Johnny just really liked coffee. 

"Yeah, I believe you, but.. I'm just so exhausted and I don't know the reason for that," Ten continued to pout. Johnny put his glass aside and chuckled, then reached over to pull Ten into his strong hold.

"Maybe you just miss something, hm?" he asked while ruffling Ten's hair. Ten laughed at that and tried to stop him from doing so, but Johnny was just stronger. Soon, they were tickling each other like there was no tomorrow. 

When they were laying on the floor, trying to catch the breath they didn't need, Ten turned around and propped himself up on his elbows, hovering over Johnny. 

"There is indeed something I miss," he said, then leaned in to press a kiss to Johnny's lips.

•

The three friends were currently on their way to Ten and Johnny to tell them about everything. They had also informed Mark, who was going to take care of the picture and then join their discussion.

Jaehyun's hand was almost healed, but Kun and Taeil wouldn't let him take the bandage off. 'For safety reasons', they said. As if he was that careless, he thought. 

Well, he was, seeing as he had managed to get frostbite while trying to keep the blood cooled since they had had a little problem with one of their cooling machines. It was all fixed again, though. Jaehyun would just never admit to being that clumsy and careless.

They had just locked their door and left. Jaehyun, who still wasn't used to the bandage, wanted to use his hand for pushing his hair back like he always did, but he couldn't. It was starting to make him feel frustrated, really. 

"I won't ever get used to this," he muttered.

Taeil, who was the first to reply, said: "I'm sure you will, but by that time, you will have it taken off." Then, Kun and Taeil chuckled.

"Thank you for your kind words, really," Jaehyun sarcastically remarked.

"You're welcome," Taeil said before Kun broke out in a fit of giggles. Jaehyun hit his arm lightly while pouting at him, causing the older guy to flinch but quickly giggle again as he saw Jaehyun's facial expression.

"Not funny," Jaehyun said while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Suddenly, they were all cuddling on the busy streets of Seoul.

\----

A few minutes later and some streets closer to their destination, Jaehyun almost froze.

"What is it?" Kun asked. Jaehyun just pointed behind his friend, then quickly pulled his hood and mask into his face, trying not to be seen. Kun turned around and they continued walking. Then, Taeil and him spotted what - more like who - Jaehyun had pointed at.

On the other side of the street, there were Taeyong and Doyoung walking while carrying a few bags. 

Doyoung was the first to notice Kun and Taeil and waved at them, a smile forming on his lips. The others waved back with a friendly smile, then proceeded to walk, trying to seem very busy. Jaehyun, in the meantime, had been making sure to avoid eye contact at all costs.

As the moment had passed, Jaehyun quietly spoke up: "He looks as gorgeous as he did back then." Taeil and Kun shared a sad glance.

\----

"I could swear I've just seen Jaehyun," Taeyong said, not trusting his own eyes and voice. He knew Jaehyun had disappeared, so why would he suddenly be back?

Well, everything could be possible in some way.

"What? Where?" Doyoung asked.

"Did you see the guy walking next to Taeil and Kun? The one who was hiding his face? Judging from his body statue and everything else, he looked like Jaehyun."

"That sounds quite.. What do I call it? Unbelievable?"

"Yeah, that sounds accurate."

•

"It's quite cold in here. Did we forget to shut a window?" Jaehyun asked as they returned to their company and home building.

"I don't think we have, maybe we didn't close every door?" Kun asked while getting rid of his jacket. 

Taeil, who had been done with that already, had went to search for the reason of the chilly air, and as he found it, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I think we have had a visitor," he said. The other two guys came hurrying over to him, and as they also spotted it, their jaws went slack.

"Is- Is that a shattered window?" Kun asked in disbelief.

"Not only that I think," Jaehyun replied. "If I am not wrong, there is blood on it."

"Let's get Mark to help us with finding out whose blood it is."

\----

"I'm sorry, guys, it's nobody in our data," Mark said a few days later, visiting the company. He was one of the very few humans knowing about it and being friends with the vampires, but that was because Taeil was his cousin. Taeil had only been turned a few years ago as well, but before Jaehyun and also before Kun. 

You could say he was the oldest.

"Damn, but thanks for looking it up anyways. Is there anything else we can do for you?" Kun asked the human. 

Mark smiled. "No, not really, but do you have ice cream?"

\----

"Well, what do we do? Do we just wait for another message to get delivered?"

"There isn't anything else we can do, is there?"

"Not really."

Little did they know that everything should change the second Kun's phone started ringing. 

•

Little did they know that everything should change the second Kun's phone started ringing. 

\----

Kun took his phone out of his pocket, looking at the caller ID. As he saw who it was, he picked up immediately. 

"Hey, Doyoung, what is it?"

"Kun, I'm so worried right now, I need your help."

"What's wrong? Just breathe and then tell me."

"It's Taeyong. He's gone."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'gone'?"

"He has gone missing yesterday afternoon."

\----

"Glad you could make it here that quick," Kun said as he opened the door for Doyoung, who was standing outside only 15 minutes after their call. The three friends had decided to invite him over and tell him about everything since Taeyong had gone missing, a note being left behind. 

Doyoung followed Kun to his office, sitting down on the couch there. Then, Taeil went in, a guy Doyoung hadn't met yet following him. Doyoung recognized him as the guy they saw on the street a few days earlier. 

"Hey, Doyoung, thanks for coming. We've got to tell you something. Would you mind if we looked at the note first?" Taeil asked. Doyoung just nodded, pulling the note out of his pocket. 

This is my last warning. 

"Well, that's not good. Still, we've got you to know something in order to save Taeyong," Taeil said again. 

"Do you know the story of Taeyong and his boyfriend who had also gone missing?" Kun asked. 

Doyoung nodded. "Yeah, he said I was one of the very few people knowing about it. That guy just disappeared out of nowhere."

"Do you know his name?" Kun asked. 

"Yeah, Jung Yoonoh, but everyone called him Jaehyun."

"I didn't disappear without a reason," Jaehyun spoke up for the first time that day, causing Doyoung to look at him confusedly. 

Jaehyun spoke up again: "I'm Jaehyun, nice to meet you," he said. 

"W- Wait, what? What do you guys mean? Do you want to tell me that this is Jaehyun?" Doyoung asked pretty loudly. 

"Calm down, Doyoung, it's a long story and we're willing to tell you, just don't freak out or assume something that isn't true, okay? We'd never hurt you," Taeil said, hoping to calm Doyoung down a little. 

Then, Jaehyun started explaining. 

\----

"So you want me to believe that you're vampires and you left Taeyong after being.. turned?"

"Exactly," Jaehyun said. "If you don't believe us, we want to show you something."

"Show me."

That's how Doyoung was the first human person besides Mark to see their storage rooms full of blood bags. 

"Oh holy fuck."

\----

"So here you can see the pictures I've been receiving," Jaehyun said as he placed all the notes in front of Doyoung as they were upstairs again. 

Just as they were about to analyze and compare everything again, the doorbell rang.

Taeil went to get it, and as he came back, he looked extremely worried. 

"Jaehyun, I think it's for you."

Tomorrow at a house in the woods next to your company building. Be there or I'll kill him. 

A picture of a bleeding and unconscious Taeyong was attached. 

•

"There are many houses in the woods, how does this person think we'll be able to find the right one?" Ten asked. Johnny and Ten had been informed about Doyoung knowing about everything and had come straight to the company building to meet him. 

It was around six in the morning when they had decided to go and look for the house to save Taeyong. Half an hour had passed by already and they hadn't found the right one yet. 

With every minute passing by, the chances of finding Taeyong alive became less.

"I don't- Wait, can you smell that?" Johnny replied, stopping in his tracks, making everyone else stop as well. 

"I can't smell anything," Doyoung replied. 

"Of course you can't, but we can," Ten shot back. "It smells like blood."

"I think we're on the right path, let's follow the smell," Kun said and walked ahead. They continued walking in the same direction for another fifteen minutes until they finally saw something. 

It was an old and damaged house that looked like it would fall together in itself every second. Still, they had to go inside since the smell of blood was coming from there. 

Taeil was the first one to go inside, making sure the others could follow him without getting killed or anything. They didn't know who the kidnapper was, so they had to be even more careful. As Taeil didn't notice anyone, he motioned for the others to quickly follow him. 

Examining the first floor, they couldn't find anyone. The group decided to split up so that Johnny, Ten and Kun would go into the basement while Doyoung, Jaehyun and Taeil would go upstairs.

"Be careful," they all whispered while splitting up. 

\----

Downstairs, the guys couldn't find a person, but a chainsaw, an axe, a hammer and way too many other supplies to torture or even kill someone with. As they looked around, Ten noticed something. 

"Guys.. How do you think did Taeyong get that wound on his leg?"

"There are many ways; why do you ask?" Taeil questioned. 

"There's blood on that chainsaw."

They decided to immediately go upstairs again and up to the second floor. 

\----

Arriving upstairs, Johnny found Doyoung waiting next to a door. 

"I'm waiting to watch out if someone comes upstairs and warn them," he replied to the unasked question. "They haven't found anything in the first three rooms."

"I'll wait here with you in case someone really gets here and you won't be in that much danger," Johnny offered. They continued watching out together while Ten and Taeil joined Kun and Jaehyun.

Kun met Taeil and Ten in a bathroom which looked like someone had been using it for quite a long time; as if someone was living in the house. That fact made them all shiver. 

"Have you found him?" Kun asked. The others denied, then continued to look for Taeyong. Right as they passed by Doyoung and Johnny in the hallway, they heard a soft whimper coming from the only room Kun hadn't been inside yet. Everyone, including Johnny and Doyoung, immediately hurried there. 

As they opened the door, they saw who had been whimpering. 

It was Taeyong.

He was alone, holding his cut open leg. 

Suddenly, they heard a foreign voice speaking up and turned around. 

"All of you stay there. Move an inch and I'll kill them."

Jaehyun was standing next to the stranger in a dark corner of the room, having a gun pointed to his head. It was loaded with something very effective against vampires. 

•

"You?!" Doyoung exclaimed, not believing who he was seeing. 

"Yes, me, my dear friend," the person said. 

"May I ask who you are?" Ten carefully spoke up. 

The guy looked directly at him. "You're going to find out soon enough, vampire," he said, spitting the last word out like it was poisonous. 

"Back to the topic; it's nice to see you again, Yoonoh, it has been so many years. I missed you, you know? I hope you missed me, too."

"Who are you? Some stalking ex-lover?" Ten asked, more courageous this time. He wasn't going to give up without a (verbal) fight. 

"Will you be quiet?" the person asked annoyedly. 

"Not until you tell us what's going on here," Ten hissed back. 

"Fine, fine, I'll tell you," they said. "I'm an old best friend of Taeyong, Dongyoung and Yoonoh and here to finally get my revenge for my dead boyfriend."

Doyoung had the courage to carefully start talking again: "Sicheng, we know Yuta's loss has caused you a lot of pain, but it's not our fault."

"It's the fault of this vampire for draining him of blood!" Sicheng exclaimed angrily. Yuta was a very sensitive topic to him and he just wanted to get him back. 

"I didn't kill him, I was turned after he died!" Jaehyun said. 

"Yet you have been turned by that vampire who killed him, and I know that because I killed that vampire, and since you're turned because of him, you should not be here!" Sicheng almost screamed, small tears forming in his eyes, but he didn't make it obvious. 

"Yuta wouldn't have wanted that," Taeyong weakly said. Nobody had expected hearing him speak up, so they all whipped their heads around in silence. 

Johnny, who was very strong and fast, used that moment of surprise to run over to Sicheng using his vampire speed, grabbing the gun and moved to the other corner of the room again, pointing the gun at Sicheng. 

Jaehyun, who had noticed it, hurried over to Taeyong, hugging him tightly, a tear rolling down his cheek. 

"Now leave or I'll shoot you instead. You have 5 seconds," Johnny said in an extremely deep and threatening voice, his gaze fierce, his eyes dark. 

Ten found it extremely hot. He knew it didn't match the situation, but he couldn't help it. 

Sicheng, who realized how much the situation has changed in the blink of an eye, ran out of the room and then out of the house. 

That didn't mean he was going to give up, though. 

Johnny lowered the gun.

\----

As they all went to Yuta's grave a week later, two hours of driving behind them, they were silent. Taeyong was still using crutches, but he was getting better. Also, since he knew about everything, Jaehyun and him had been getting closer again. 

Ten and Johnny.. oh well, that was a bit more complicated, but they liked it that way. 

Sicheng had never been seen again, but it hadn't been a long time, so he might as well appear again. 

Kun and Doyoung had become best friends and were spending a huge amount of their time together; Doyoung had even become a part of their company, helping out when he wasn't working at the bank. 

Mark was the best cousin Taeil could imagine. 

Taeil.. Taeil had almost died a few years ago, the day Yuta had been killed, his soul had already left his body. Yuta's soul, though, had found his body and decided to enter it so both of them would have another chance to live since Yuta's own body wouldn't do it anymore and Taeil's soul was gone. 

Those two were basically united in the same body. 

The friends didn't know about that yet, but they would find out soon.


End file.
